Traffic Safety

One of the State Police's highest priorities is to ensure the safety of all those
who use New York's highways. As we see it, our job is to make the state's roadways safer
by reducing injuries, property damage, and the loss of life caused by motor vehicle
crashes, by:

Providing education on safe driving to schools, civic organizations and other governmental
groups.

Special attention is directed at state, interstate and other controlled access highways
for which the State Police has primary responsibility, and dedicated patrols. Troopers
on patrol enforce the Vehicle & Traffic Law, investigate motor vehicle crashes,
assist disabled motorists, and provide many other professional services.

This commitment is supported by an aggressive traffic safety program that works to
save lives, reduce injuries, and save state residents millions of dollars otherwise
expended as a result of highway crashes.

The NYSP ensures New York's highways are safe and that traffic flows efficiently by
employing activities such as:

Sobriety checkpoints

DWI, underage drinking, and speed saturation patrols

Dedicated interstate patrols

Commercial vehicle inspections and checkpoints

Preemptive checks of establishments dispensing alcoholic beverages

Collision Reconstruction Unit Experts

Each year, the Traffic Services Section develops a comprehensive Traffic Safety Plan
focusing on enforcement and education. The activities included in the plan address the
three primary causes of highway fatalities - excessive speed, driving while intoxicated
(DWI), and failure to use seat belts or child safety restraints. The plan also provides
for the specialized training and equipment given to troopers to carry out these efforts.

Troopers play a prominent role in reducing highway fatality rates in New York State
and issue over 900,000 tickets each year. Statistics show that troopers, while comprising
less than 6% of New York's total law enforcement personnel, make about 30% of all DWI
arrests in New York State, issue 47% of all citations for occupant restraints and 55%
of all speeding tickets.